Timberwolves overwhelm Pacers with enormous overall effort

The celebration at Target Center Saturday night, at least at first, was because Anthony Edwards' first signature sneaker debuted in front of a sellout crowd. It took a while for the other shoe to drop.

But when it did …

Wow.

Try 40 points from Karl-Anthony Towns, whose 14 first-quarter points kept the Timberwolves in a game they started slowly. Try 37 from Edwards, all after the first quarter. Try a 38-23 third quarter that turned a close game into a 127-109 victory over the Pacers.

"We both put our pride to the side and just want to win," said Edwards of the chemistry between him and Towns. "That's the main thing. A lot of people try to put us against each other. We talk more than a lot of people think. We super cool."

And super efficient.

Towns finished 15-for-25 overall, including 2-for-3 on threes, with 12 boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks while posting the highest-scoring game of the season by a Wolves player. Edwards was 14-for-19 after missing his first four shots. He made seven of 10 three-pointers — a team season high in makes — and had four assists and three steals.

The Wolves (19-5) improved to 11-1 at home. After the game ended, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle called the Wolves "one of the best teams on the planet. These guys have really got it going here. The building is alive the environment is very different than it used to be."

The Pacers (13-11) were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, with the additional headache of difficult travel after losing Friday at Washington. They were also without All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, who had a sore knee.

And yet, the Pacers were within three after a quarter and two at the half. Then, after a halftime in which Wolves coach Chris Finch, in Edwards' words, did some chewing out, the Wolves came out and took over the game. Towns had 13, Edward nine, Naz Reid (who finished with 17) eight in the quarter.

"We finally started playing smart offensively," said Finch, who described the Wolves' first-half offense as wild. "But when we do efficient things we can score the ball."

The Wolves finished with season highs in threes made (18-for-30), overall shooting (.558) and three-point accuracy (.600).

They also finished with two players having monster games. After the game, Kyle Anderson — who had 10 assists off the bench — talked about how, on any given night, anyone can be the guy. Edwards credited Towns. Towns talked about not being the star, but being a star.

"Not the sun, but you're one of the planets," he said. "I think I've shown in my career I'm willing to sacrifice. Whatever it takes to make this team win as many games as possible and have this team be the best version of itself."

Saturday that meant Towns and Edwards combining for 77 points on 29-for-48 shooting, 14 rebounds, eight assists and six steals.

What a night for Edwards, whose brother performed at halftime. His shoe came out, his shot went down. "I've been shooting bad lately," he said. "So, at some point, that has to change. I'm glad it changed tonight."

Towns, meanwhile, scored 14 points in the first, six in the second, 13 in the third and had seven in the fourth when Finch sat his starters.

"He's been like that since I've been here," Edwards said of Towns. "He's always been efficient, gets us points. … I'm used to seeing it."

And Towns is getting pretty used to Edwards' performances, too.

"I just want to see him reach his potential," Towns said. "And that's what I've got to do. So I support him fully."